The USEPA recently announced a proposed new rule to reduce smog, the cacophony of compounds that build up in the atmosphere, triggered by sunlight and the presence of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Smog causes haze, making it difficult to see a landscape. More important, many components of smog are harmful to human health. Areas with high ground-level ozone levels have been linked to asthma and cancer. We measure smog by an indicator compound, ozone. This is ozone in our atmosphere, not to be confused by the necessary ozone in the stratosphere. Few processes emit ozone; it is formed by chemical reactions of nitrogen oxides and VOC that occur in the atmosphere catalyzed by sunlight.

There are currently National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone, above which a monitored area is at risk of adverse public health effects. The agency is proposing to reduce (strengthen) ozone’s NAAQS from 75 ppb to within a range of 65 to 70 parts per billion (ppb); and taking comment on a level as low as 60 ppb. This is part of the USEPA’s job to review all NAAQS standards every five years, as stated in the Clean Air Act, passed by Congress and signed by the President.

USEPA scientists examined numerous scientific studies of health effects of ozone exposure in the last five years, over 1,000 new, mainly peer-reviewed studies published since the last update. A number of these studies indicated that exposure to ozone at levels below 75 ppb — the level of the current standard — can still pose serious threats to public health and the environment.

If this rule is promulgated and the NAAQS standard is lowered, a number of additional communities around the nation will be considered not in attainment with the new standard. States with these areas will be required to promulgate and enforce stricter rules pertaining to emissions of smog’s forerunners, nitrogen oxides and VOCs, in hopes of reducing ambient concentrations of ozone to the new standard in these non-attainment areas. The good news is that a number of recently finalized or proposed federal air pollution rules, including new light duty vehicle emission and fuel standards (“Tier 3”), will help to significantly cut emissions of smog-forming compounds, lessening the burden on the states to promulgate new rules to meet the proposed standards.

Not surprisingly, a number of business and manufacturing groups oppose the proposed lowering of the ozone NAAQS, stating that the resulting tightening of emission regulations would adversely affect how industry operates and may cause many firms to halt expansion plans in the US, jeopardizing the recent comeback in manufacturing.

CCES has the experts to help your facility assess your nitrogen oxide and VOC emissions, and determine, design, install, and test cost-effective options to minimize emissions of these and other compounds to provide greater operating flexibility in the wake of potential new rules. Contact us at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.